Photograph by: Mark van Manen
, PNG

WHISTLER — The 2008 Olympics in Beijing had Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. The 2010 Olympics had Lindsey Vonn and a rather remarkable goal by Sidney Crosby.

The 2010 Winter Paralympics have Brian and Robin McKeever. Call it McKeever fever.

Brian McKeever, the 30-year-old legally blind Paralympic cross country skier/biathlete from Canmore, Alta., is a major star at these Games, his star rising even higher after he’d qualified for the Canadian Olympic cross country team only to be denied a chance to compete by the team’s coaching staff.

Monday morning at Whistler Olympic Park, he laced up his boots and with the help of his brother Robin, who acts as his guide, won the men’s 20-kilometre freestyle visually impaired event. The gold medal is Canada’s first at these Games. As this is the first time Canada has hosted the Winter Paralympics, it also marks the first winter gold on Canadian soil.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Brian McKeever. “That’s the one we were waiting to win, the one we really wanted. We’d never won the 20 km before. It’s been eight years in the making, the third Paralympics and that’s the one we wanted.

“Absolutely,” he said when asked if it’s more special coming on Canadian soil. McKeever, who has Stargaard’s disease, a degenerative condition that reduces his vision, has a history of dominance on the cross country trials. He already owns seven medals from the 2002 and 2006 Paralympic Games — four gold, two silver and a bronze.

“Our friends and family are here. A home crowd that has supported us through this whole journey. Right through the Olympics they were behind us and really supporting us. It’s just a way we can give back for all the support that we’ve had.”

The McKeevers took silver in the event in 2006 in Turin and in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Monday they made it look it easy, finishing in 51 minutes, 14.70 seconds, a full 41.80 ahead of the Russian silver medallist Nikolay Polukhin and his guide Andrey Tokarev. Vasili Shaptsiaboi of Belarus and his guide Mikalai Shablouski got the bronze in 52:22.50.

Canada’s Alexei Novikov and his guide Jamie Sterling were 13th in 1:08.47.60.

Brian McKeever is a hot commodity at these Games. A throng of about 20 reporters clustered in the mixed zone to interview him and his brother after the win. On the first two days in the Callaghan Valley there were only three or four reporters asking questions.

The Olympic snub partly explains the McKeever fever. On the Olympics’ final day, the Canadian team coaches decided to start four other guys and sit McKeever for the 50-km event.

“It makes it a lot easier,” Brian McKeever said when asked if winning Monday made the Olympic decision easier to take.

“We’re never going to forget what happened but this helps us move on. We have more racing yet to go so there are still more things to look ahead to.”

As for being put into the leading role, he’s fine with that.

“As much as it would be great if everyone could get this attention, at least the attention is here at the Paralympics,” said Brian McKeever. “This is what we wanted. This is the first Paralympics that we’ve seen the attention come for all the sports, all the athletes.

“It helps that it’s a home Games. That’s what we wanted. We wanted to raise the profile of the Paralympics, bridge the gap between the Olympics and the Paralympics and I think we’re doing that. That’s going to help the Paralympic movement to grow and help this competition to get stronger for many years to come.”

Robin McKeever noted that there are other great talents competing in Whistler.

“We put in a really hard effort and we won,” added Robin McKeever. “For us it was a hard effort. The athletes we compete against, they don’t see as well as Brian, they’re B2 category (McKeever is a B3). These guys are phenomenal skiers. Who knows? In their countries they’re border line Olympians as well. We just don’t know.”

“It means that the natural laws of justice are prevailing and unfolding the way they should,” said Furlong.

“The fact that Brian won is fantastic. He’s a terrific Canadian. Given what happened during the Olympic Games it couldn’t fall to a more worthy person than him to be the first gold medallist at the Paralympic Winter Games for us. He’s a remarkable young fella and for him to do it with his brother, it’s the perfect story. I’m very happy to see it.”

The thousands of fans who jammed the grandstand knew they were watching history. They were fairly noisy when the McKeevers crossed the finish line even though they’d been asked to remain quiet when the skiers came into the finish area. Noise can interfere with the communication between the skier and the guide.

They were asked to do a silent wave. Raise their hands above their heads and shake them. It was as if these men of winter were putting on a golf green instead of skiing on a trail. But this is the Paralympic party. The idea didn’t completely take.

“It wasn’t a quiet stadium when we rolled through,” laughed Brian. “For us, because I have enough vision to see a little bit it doesn’t matter if it’s quiet or loud. I just watch Robin and follow where he goes.”

“In the beginning we talk quite a bit to make sure that Brian is happy with the pace I’m setting,” explained Robin. “Once we’re into about five km the only thing we’re communicating is trying to get the split (times) from the coaches. We were really concerned at that point in time. We were going really hard. It was more like gasping it out.”

The McKeevers want another shot at the 2014 Olympics and Paralympics.

“We’ll be trying, four years absolutely,” said Brian McKeever. “I want another shot at the Olympics for sure and we’re already starting the plans to see how we can get there and to make sure that the training will be right.”

The McKeevers said they were inspired by the silver medal teammate Colette Bourgonje won in Sunday’s 10-km sit-ski event.

As for winning the first Canadian gold, Robin attributed that to the rash of weather-related delays at the alpine venue at Whistler Creekside.

“We’re lucky that alpine got cancelled or this probably wouldn’t be the first Canadian gold medal,” said Robin with a laugh. “Good luck to the alpine guys when they get going because we’ve got a strong alpine, too.”

The McKeevers will chase three more golds before these Games end on Sunday, two cross country and a biathlon. And after battling through a bad flu, placing sixth in Saturday’s three-kilometre biathlon pursuit and winning on Monday, they’re confident.

“I think we feel quite confident going into the next classic race, the 10 km,” said Robin McKeever. “Brian is much stronger in the classic than I am so the issue will be the guiding there. But we’re looking forward to that. The biathlon is a hit and miss. And there’s sprinting which we did well in here last year at the pre-Paralympic World Cups.”

Photograph by: Mark van Manen, PNG

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